'a collection of nine luminous tales ... Segal shows us Cuba at street level. The Cubans and expats who find each other in the story titled “Siempre Luchando,” for example, seek out places that only Cubans know. Although Segal is interested in politics, she always shows us the realpolitik of intimate human relationships, too ... rich and evocative.' — LA Jewish Journal

'stark and poetic ... a thought-provoking collection that will remain with you after you close the final page.' — One More Page

'Leila Segal’s recent short fictions have sprung from the time she spent living in Cuba and immersing herself in the country’s language and ways of thinking. Breathe has made an interesting journey across written vocabularies and cultures. The encounters begin in one tongue and talk and write themselves into another, sometimes straddling both when one language is inadequate for the job. These are stories of encounters, chance meetings and epiphanies in streets that are at once exotic and familiar ... shining a spotlight on our perceptions as non-Cubans of the so-called exotic other’ — Ian McMillan, on BBC Radio 3's The Verb

'A love letter to Cuba and a lament for the hardships of a struggling community ... sizzles with the tension of a rum headache.' — Mslexia

'Leila Segal's evocative, sensuous, poetic collection [explores] the contradictions and struggles that life in Cuba represents for both locals and visitors. The stories are empathetic, intimate and subtle; you'll respond at the level of breathing in the same way the characters do.' — Mechanics Institute Review

'[Segal] expresses the complex and conflicting emotions which bind together and splinter apart foreigners and Cubans ... [she] writes about Cuba with a unique style and voice ... [her] style is refreshing.' — Brixton Bugle

'Detailed and thought-provoking, did not leave me wanting more apart from Leila Segal’s next book' — Nat's Reading Cloud

'Segal successfully creates a juxtaposition of the affluent tourists in their high-end hotels against the hardships of life for Cubans ... these stories will stay with you' — Writer's Little Helper

'Leila Segal's "Breathe" encapsulates the dynamics of some of my own past experiences while living in Cuba and in frequent interaction with foreigners. Her poetic writing eloquently portrays - and stripped of stereotypes - the complexities of the curiosity, power struggles, fears, presumptions, prejudgments, eroticism and cultural clash inherent in such interactions. I deeply resonate with these stories.' — Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas, multi-award-winning Cuban guitarist

'A look at Cuba through foreign eyes. Relying more on subtleties than on drama, [Segal] portrays the tensions and struggles, but also the joy and warmth, that fill Cubans' lives.' — Aida Bahr, author of Ofelias, and winner of Cuba's Premio de la Critica Literaria

'Segal's storytelling is unflinching, sensual and always alert to the nuances of its locale' — Karen McCarthy Woolf (An Aviary of Small Birds)

‘Leila Segal’s frank and wonderfully observed collection of short stories throbs with a rare intimacy, exploring as it does, the hopes, aspirations, personal defeats and small victories of modern-day Cuba. This is a heartfelt, haunting collection in which Segal displays an admirable sensitivity.’ — Jacob Ross (Pynter Bender)